Heaven forbid
by Angel Pendragon
Summary: Uther entrusts the care of a teenage girl with Arthur, A/M FLUFF....... May be slash later on R/R please
1. Heaven forbid

Heaven Forbid.

A stampede of horses hooves blazed straight towards Camelot, villagers hurried out of the way as horses rounded the corner and stormed through the village square headed straight towards the castle.

King Uther peered from the balcony taking in the sights and sounds of his Camelot, the place he had saved from mayhem and chaos over the past twenty years since the death of his dear wife.

He was about to turn away and head back into the castle when he heard the chaos of hooves, too many hooves for a small gathering of people this sounded like an army.

Uther stared down at the horse mounted people below as the horses came to a sharp halt in the court yard, he stared down at them and a sharp pain and fear struck him, over powered him causing him to fall forwards onto the balcony wall.

As he painfully stared down he met the gaze of a pair of bright green eyes, green eye's that were surrounded with red puffy skin.

King Uther let his head drop as he said a silent pray, his gaze fell back to the mounted army of men dressed in armour sporting green emblems and crests upon their chests, Knights, Lord Drystan's Knights.

The day had finally come, the day Uther feared, Mercia had declared war with Aberteifi.

Lord Drystan was a close friend and almost like a brother to King Uther and he had always promised to look after the Lords children when he was no longer of this mortal coil, when his life had ended, he had entrusted his children in to the care of King Uther up on his death.

Uther felt the feeling of hate, sorrow and grief overwhelm him as he gazed upon the army of Knights who had gathered below, a large group to escort two people to the safety of Camelot.

King Uther knew there was more to this than there appeared, he signalled to his Knights to approach the army and to escort the Lord's children inside.

The King's court was silent as the doors opened and in walked a middle aged man, followed by a young, tall, dark haired and handsome man.

"King Uther may I present Daniel of Aberteifi, Lord Drystan's son" said the middle aged man as he stepped aside and let the young man stand before the King.

Uther stared down at the young man who appeared calm but never meeting the King's gaze.

"I haven't seen you in many years, I am so sorry for your loss, I wish we had met under better circumstances" said the King in his best attempt at a comforting tone.

The young man only nodded as he kept his gaze low, the court was filled with Knights from both sides, servants, Lady Morgana, Prince Arthur and Merlin.

Merlin stared at the young man, Arthur stared at the young man and Morgana stared at him with sorrow in her eyes.

Daniel eventually looked up and his gaze fell on Morgana, her eyes sparkled, Merlin saw the attraction between them, in the current situation he thought maybe it was wrong for the young man and Morgana to look at each other in such a way but Merlin knew from Arthur's brief conversation on the way to the court he, Morgana and the Lords children knew each other very well and had done for many years.

Daniel and Morgana liked each other and maybe had done for some time, Arthur however wasn't too keen on the young man, he said he was pretentious, arrogant and a chaotic person who seemed to cause trouble wherever he went.

Merlin found this rather amusing as Arthur him self was possibly the most arrogant person he had ever had the pleasure of meeting, but in the light of the current situation Merlin kept his opinions to him self and stood quietly with his master in the court.

"My father's death comes as no surprise to me my lord, for I have known since I was a child that he would never return from the battle" said Daniel bluntly as he shifted his gaze to the King before flitting back to Morgana.

King Uther nodded his head agreeing with the young man "Lord Drystan was a loyal, brave and wonderful man, you should be proud".

Daniel sighed and finally stared the King square in the eye "yes my lord, but he was also a foolish man" he replied, receiving a glare from the King.

"Foolish how?" the King snapped.

Daniel gripped his sword and glared at the floor before once more raising his head to meet the King's stare which was now cold and annoyed "he would not allow me to fight beside him in battle, I could have saved him from his death".

King Uther shook his head "you are the heir to the state, Lord Drystan would not risk your life, he did as any father would" said the King sharply.

Arthur stared at his father with questioning eyes and he shook his own head, he knew that was not true as King Uther would easily send him in to battle to save Camelot.

"Would you sire? Would you protect your own son from battle?" asked Daniel as his bright green eyes fell upon Arthur for the first time.

King Uther paused, clutching the throne arm his eyes set sternly on the stone floor.

Arthur waited for the answer, Merlin waited for the answer, the whole court waited for the answer.

"No, he wouldn't, he would send me in to fight" boomed the Prince breaking the silence.

Merlin felt the atmosphere turn thick with tension, he closed his eyes waiting for King Uther to snap at his son, but he never did instead he kept silent.

Morgana turned to Uther with pleading eyes "Sire, you wouldn't" she whispered painfully.

King Uther only stared at the floor "Arthur knows his duty is to Camelot and the kingdom of Albion" he replied.

Morgana's face fell full of horror "he's your son" she cried.

Uther only shot her a cold glare but she knew what he was thinking 'be quiet or feel my wrath'.

Arthur sat at the table in his chambers, he had a goblet full of wine which he had been holding for the past hour, he spoke rarely to his servant who sat off side from him, he hadn't given Merlin any chores to do and he hadn't verbally attacked him in which seemed like forever.

It's as if Arthur was a ghost of his former self, Merlin knew King Uther's attitude towards his son had left a deep hole in the Prince's heart and soul, leaving him nothing but a shell of what he usually was.

This broke Merlin's heart to see Arthur so down, sad, empty and alone, he wanted to go to the King and scream at him, make him feel as small as Arthur did right now.

Merlin may have been an idiot, Arthur told him so on a daily basis but he was not idiot enough to totally flip at the King, even though it was less than he deserved, Merlin knew it would do no good, it would only end up with Merlin in jail and that would be no good for anyone.

Merlin's deep blue eyes concentrated on the Prince who looked as if his soul had been eaten up by a black hole.

Arthur shuffled in his seat before pressing his back against the solid back of the chair and he laid his goblet down before raising his hand to his head and letting it rest on his forehead, shielding his eyes from his manservant.

"You can go.... Gaius can use you... I have nothing for you to do" he mumbled.

Merlin wrinkled his brow as he looked at the pile of armour on the chambers floor "what about the armour?".

Arthur sprung up from the chair and stormed off towards his room "just leave Merlin" he yelled as he slammed the door shut.

Merlin winced as the slamming door sent a shuddering vibration through the room, he took a deep breath before climbing to his feet and headed towards the Prince's room.

"Arthur..... I can't begin to understand how you feel..." he began, then he heard a crash come from the Prince's room.

"JUST LEAVE" Arthur screamed as a loud thud hit the other side of the door.

Merlin pressed his hands against the wooden frame of the door and let his head hang down.

"Arthur.. please..... speak to me" he pleaded his voice soft and caring.

Arthur paced the floor in his room, occasionally turning and kicking the small chair that sat next to his bed, the same chair that had been sat on by all his well wishers and nursers from when he was ill.

He eyed the chair then glared at the window, he hurled towards it and grabbed it, he raised the chair above his head and aimed it towards the window, but then he spun and threw it forcefully against the wall.

His eyes stung, his head spun, his heart felt dead, as if it had stopped beating a long time ago.

He fell to the floor beside the bed and began to sob, tears running down his face, stinging his eyes and hitting his breeches leaving dark damp spots.

Merlin heard the sobs from behind the door, the chaos had died down and there was an eerie silence.

He gripped the handle and pushed the door open slowly, as he popped his head around the door he scanned the room for Arthur and saw him slumped beside the bed, sobbing and broken.

Merlin slowly tip toed towards him and sat down beside him in silence, even if Arthur didn't want to talk to him at least he knew he had someone there for him.

Arthur was used to having no one to turn to, his mother died when he was a baby, his father was always too busy ruling Camelot to ever actually be a father to his son, he never had any real friends, he had Knights but they were there mainly to serve and not there to form any real friendship with, his servants always seemed too scared of him to actually want to get to know him, all but Merlin, he had taken the time and had the patience to tolerate the Prince and to on some level form a friendship with Arthur.

Merlin hated silence, he always had to say something whenever he and Arthur argued, didn't matter what it was, anything from "you're a prat" to commenting on something ridiculous, Arthur's favourite Merlin quote being "at least its shiny", when Arthur and he had argued over some armour, Merlin being the idiot he was had gotten some armour mixed up when he had taken it to the black smith for repair and he had picked up the wrong piece, making Arthur angry as it was too big for him, but it was nice and shiny.

Arthur sobbed his heart out in front of his servant, he was leaving himself wide open and vulnerable.

Merlin felt awkward but he knew it had to happen, Arthur could not continue to go around, blocking out his father's behaviour towards him, it all had to pour out eventually and now it was.

Arthur was slumped on the floor sobbing his heart out in the presence of Merlin, whether it was wanted or not.

Merlin suddenly felt Arthur's head fall on to his shoulder as the Prince edged closer to him, he curled him self up to the servant.

Merlin took the opportunity to place his arm around the Prince and comfort him, shield him from his pain and heart break, he wanted Arthur to know that amongst all the pain and abandonment he had someone there for him, someone who would always be there for him, someone who cared about him and would protect him no matter what..

Arthur buried his head in to Merlin's soft, warm chest and sobbed some more.

Merlin felt his own eyes fill with hot, stinging tears as he listened to the Prince cry in the dim light of the room, he felt his throat form a lump as Arthur's gasps for breath echoed in his mind as he closed his eyes and cradled the young Pendragon.

How could anybody chose a kingdom over their own family? Thought Merlin as he gently laid his cheek on Arthur's soft golden head.

Arthur nuzzled his head further in to Merlin's chest and his sobbing calmed and became nothing but a slight sniffling and short gasps for breath as he brought himself around in the comfort of his servant.

Arthur inhaled deeply as he composed him self and eventually pulled away from Merlin.

"This doesn't leave the room ok" muttered Arthur as he wiped the remainder of the tears away from his eyes and face, Merlin gave him a sweet reassuring smile and nodded.

King Uther sat at the dinning table with Morgana and Daniel, Morgana and Daniel swapped each other shy smiles as Uther looked on amused.

Morgana had always had a fondness for Daniel and even though Uther had hoped one day she would marry Arthur and be Queen of Camelot he could not ignore the spark between her and Daniel, they were sweet on each other to say the least and neither of them were denying it and never had, even when Arthur would tease Morgana as a teenager about her crush on Daniel she always stood defiant about it and never became embarrassed by it.

King Uther would happily allow Morgana to marry Daniel if it was what she wanted as long as Arthur was able to find another betrothed.

"Where is Mallory?does she not join us?" asked Morgana as she sipped her wine.

Daniel smiled at her and fumbled with a ring on his index finger "she is here in Camelot, but she wanted to remain in her chambers, she is finding it hard" he replied with a sadness in his voice.

King Uther straightened in his seat and turned his gaze to Morgana "I am going to put her in Arthur's care" said the King.

Morgana stared in shock at the King "but Arthur will hate that, he will not want to be saddled with a ward" she whipped defensively more for Mallory's sake than Arthur's.

Daniel had a small smirk on his face "come now Morgana, you know Mallory is far more than a match for Arthur".

Morgana glared at both men "she is a girl, she deserves better than to be put in Arthur's care, he can barely care for himself, what hope is there for Mallory?" she protested.

King Uther shook his head "my decision is made, Arthur will care for her".

Morgana threw down her fork and stormed out of the dinning hall leaving both men with a rather amused smirk on their faces.

Mallory stood at the window in the spare guest chambers where she was staying, the same chambers she had when she was younger when she would stay in Camelot, she had a view of the town and stables.

She was staring out in to the cold night, her breath steaming up as she exhaled.

Her bright blue eyes taking in the sights of Camelot by dark, all the small houses with there glows coming from the windows and the odd villager making their way back home or the odd guard doing his rounds securing the village.

Mallory smiled to her self, she loved Camelot for all its glory and even its dark murky corners, every bit of Camelot held some beauty to her.

Mallory turned to the door as she heard a quiet rap at the door "yes" she called out and the door opened and in stepped Morgana.

The women smiled at each other before Morgana flew over and wrapped her arms around the young pretty teen.

"I am so sorry about your father" Morgana choked.

Mallory just smiled and examined a pendant around Morgana's neck "that's beautiful" she remarked.

Morgana frowned at the girl "you can't ignore the hurt Mal..".

Mallory smiled back her face light and cheery "I am not ignoring anything, he knew what he was doing, he died the way he always said he would, in battle, I accept that" Mallory said in a cheery tone making Morgana fall in to a state of confusion.

Morgana stared at the pretty teenage girl, Mallory had just turned 18, her dark blonde hair fell loosely over her shoulders, her pale skin was illuminated by her rosy pink cheeks and her bright blue eyes sparkled like sapphires, she was a prize for any man who was capable of winning her over .

Mallory was always seen as one of the boys, that was probably why Uther had chosen Arthur to care for her not to mention to teach him responsibility.

Mallory was always good at sparing with the Knights and Arthur as a young teen, she had a rebellious side that would come out during sparing, she had knocked Arthur down many times and even knocked him out once, which she apologised for more than she needed to.

Morgana saw that Mallory was now a different person, she was a young woman and she needed a guiding hand not a sparing partner, Arthur would try to break Mallory with his taunts and boyish behaviour, the question was how long would it take before he succeeded?.

"I have some news for you, I thought you should know now... Uther has entrusted you into the care of Arthur" Morgana said in a pitiful tone.

Mallory only smiled and pulled the window closed, "well that should be interesting" she replied with a smirk.

"You don't mind?" asked Morgana dazed.

Mallory laughed and fell on to the bed "please I have had to grow up with Daniel, Arthur will be a breeze" she gushed as she stretched out on the bed "besides Arthur always made me laugh..... well I used to laugh at him, not with him, but that's the fun right?".

Morgana began to smile 'maybe she will be ok' Morgana thought.

Mallory awoke to hear a loud crash come from the corridor as she pulled open the door she met the embarrassed flushed face of Gwen.

"My lady I am so sorry" she cried, Mallory bent down and helped Gwen pick up the broken pottery and water bowl.

"Were they for me?" asked Mallory but Gwen only gave her a shy nod, "oh well no harm done" whipped Mallory as she pushed the tray behind her door and went back in to the room to dress.

Gwen followed her in apologising repeatedly and mumbling about being so clumsy.

Mallory turned to the maid and held up two out fits "OK, so this one or this one?" she said as she held up a sweet white, laced dress which had straps instead of long sleeves and would have been knee height on the girl and a pair of breeches and a white shirt in the other hand.

Gwen eyed both outfits before settling for the dress with a smile.

Mallory let out a sigh as she began to put on the dress and turned to Gwen to help her fasten it up.

"You are meeting Arthur and his Knights today" gushed Gwen as she picked up a brush to do Mallory's hair.

Mallory rolled her eyes "I can hardly wait" she chirped sarcastically making Gwen smirk.

"Arthur isn't that bad" Gwen said softly.

Mallory smirked back to the maid "I know... he used to be very charming when he wasn't being a total prat".

Gwen laughed "you will get on with Merlin very well" she gushed before setting to and doing Mallory's hair, fastening it in to clips and leaving the back free to fall.

"Merlin..... who's he?" asked Mallory with a rather excited tone to her voice.

"He is Arthur's manservant" Gwen replied.

"Hmmm what happened to Harry?" asked Mallory as she checked her self in the mirror before heading out in to the hall.

Gwen only shrugged her shoulders and followed the girl out in to the hall.

"Is this Merlin...... cute?" she inquired studying Gwen's face.

Gwen smiled and nodded "he's sweet, he has a nice smile" she replied.

Mallory grinned "well then having to put up with Arthur will have its rewards, I'm all for cute servants".

Arthur was in the training grounds with his Knights and Merlin, he was swinging a sword as he spoke tactics and etiquette, he swung the sword out towards Merlin who jumped back out of its way.

Arthur's face erupted into a cheeky smile as he poked his sword at his servant again, Merlin again jumped backwards out of its way and bumped in to Gwen who had made her way down to watch the training.

"So who's first?" yelled Arthur as he eyed his Knights waiting for one of them to volunteer to be the first to fight him in a sparing match.

There was a clang and a shrill twang as the sound of a sword was being drawn "I will" said a sweet voice.

Arthur turned to see a young woman stood inches behind him, sword in hand and a cheeky smile on her face.

"No way" Arthur spat as he turned back to his Knights.

"Oh come on........ or are you scared I will beat you, my lord?" she mocked making Arthur bite his lip before spinning around and lunging at her with his sword, she blocked him, hit back, kicked him in the stomach and he fell to the floor, she stood over him smirking.

"Oh Arthur, still being beaten by a girl" she taunted as she tapped him with the tip of her sword on the chest armour.

Gwen and Merlin grinned at her from the side, she smiled back as she walked towards them, then she heard a clang and she felt an arm wrap around her chest as Arthur pounced on her.

"I was letting you have your glory, until you got cocky" he growled in her ear.

She grabbed his arm and spun him around, kicked his feet from under him and he fell with a thud to the floor "nope I beat you" Mallory chirped with triumph.

Arthur grabbed her leg and pulled her down to the ground next to him, he pinned her down and held his face with in inches to hers, she could feel his hot breath on her lips and invading her nostrils, he gave her a teasing smirk before he pressed his lips against hers in a short stolen kiss.

The Knights whooped and jeered as their Prince won back the control from the triumphant woman.

Mallory shoved Arthur off her self and climbed to her feet "Arthur you're an ass" she shrieked as she wiped her lips with the back of her hand and had a horrified expression on her face.

Arthur grinned at her before returning to his Knights and laughing.

Merlin stared at the young woman his eyes wide with shock, Gwen was shaking her head as Mallory strolled over to them still cursing Arthur.

"I guess that wasn't your plan?" whipped Gwen.

Mallory glared at Arthur from across the distance and growled "no... it bloody wasn't.. he's an ass" she shrieked.

Merlin laughed before introducing him self to the young woman..


	2. Arthur's ward

Arthur's ward.

Mallory swatted Arthur's hand away as he crept up behind her and draped his arm around her bare shoulders.

Arthur smirked and rolled his eyes as he jumped in front of her to block her path of escape, her eyes shot in to the distance as she did her best to ignore the annoying young Royal.

Gwen and Merlin observed the two curiously, Gwen observed how no matter how much Arthur tried the young woman dismissed his charm and advances of what he called an apology, the more he attempted to show his sincerity the more she became enraged.

Arthur let out a sigh as the young woman grabbed his arm as he moved his hand in closer to her face in an attempt to caress her cheek and move her gaze in his direction.

"If I wanted to look at you, I would and given the fact I would rather look at the castle wall, I think you should go and play with the boys" she finally snapped as she threw Arthur's arm towards his face, his arm knocked his jaw leaving him dumbfounded and gaping with shock at the pretty young woman who refused to give in to the Prince's charm.

"And next time you dare kiss me, I swear I will surgically remove your balls and feed them to you, Arthur Pendragon" she yelled before storming off towards the castle with nothing more than sheer anger reflected in her eyes.

Merlin swallowed a sharp hiss of a laugh as he witnessed the actions causing Arthur to shoot him a warning glare, Merlin faked a cough and turned to Gwen before letting the huge grin spread across his face once more.

Gwen followed Mallory back in to the castle and a rather amused Merlin followed suit, leaving his master to continue with his training in the castle grounds.

Mallory stormed through the castle, her shoes echoing along the corridor as she turned and dipped around corners before coming to a stand still at the bottom of the adjoining stair case.

She spun on her heels and stampeded off back in the direction she had just come making Merlin skid to a halt and chase after her.

"What are you going to do?" he shrieked as he realised she was heading back in the direction of Arthur.

He jogged in front of her and began to back pedal along the corridor, occasionally peering over his shoulder as he went making sure he didn't bump in to any one or anything.

Gwen was still standing at the bottom of the stair case twiddling her thumbs, as if expecting the fiery young woman to come back and abandon her mission of giving Arthur a piece of her mind.

Merlin started to wave his hands and dodged in her path as she swatted at him with her hand.

Merlin being brave or an idiot grabbed her by the hands and dragged her off in to a near by room and pushed the door too, he turned to see nothing more than an angry expression up on her delicate features.

He gave her a sweet smile as he pressed him self up against the door, blocking her exit.

"Now Mallory, think about this, Arthur isn't just going to let you rip in to him in front of his Knights" he reasoned.

Mallory crossed her arms defensively across her chest as her eyes scorched in to the servants equally ocean blue, bright, mesmerising eyes.

She stepped towards Merlin and clenched her fists "let me go" she snarled.

Merlin shook his head as he swallowed back a hesitant pause "no, no way, you will do something stupid" he said with concern.

Mallory smirked at the servant as she edged closer to him, his body was heaving from terror and an over whelming feeling of stupidity, she was a Lady, she was of noble blood, she could have the young servant thrown in the jail or the stocks for his behaviour towards her.

Her eyes blazed with rage in to his, he felt the tension building up and all he could do was watch helplessly, she grew closer and closer until her face was in breaths reach of his, he felt his back sink in to the door as he failed in an attempt to distance himself from the murderous glare reflected in her eyes.

Mallory brought her hand up and grabbed Merlin's red neck scarf and scrunched it in her hand, still attached to his neck and she growled in his ear "let me go or spend the night in the jail".

He shook his head at her and instantly regretted it as she yanked the neck scarf off him leaving his neck sore and choked.

The pretty teen over powered Merlin and pushed him towards the chair that was set next to the empty table in the centre of the room, she took the neck scarf and tied it around his head over his mouth, gagging him.

She pulled off her thin decorative belt and wrapped it around the servants wrists and around the back or the chair, in between the grooves so he could not pull it free.

Mallory stared at the servant with a glint of triumph on her face and smiled "Merlin you shouldn't have got on the wrong side of me" she stated coldly before leaving the room, leaving Merlin gagged and tied to the chair, alone and helpless, or so she thought.

Merlin pulled at the restraints around his wrists and let out a muffled groan as he felt it tighten.

Suddenly his eyes glowed copper and the restraints released, he pulled himself free and tugged the neck scarf from his mouth and jumped up from the chair.

Merlin bolted from the room and ran after a fuming Mallory.

Mallory glided down through the corridors and as she approached the castle training grounds she was hustled from behind and once again dragged off.

She fitted and kicked at her trapper until she caught him in the groin and he collapsed to the ground.

"Merlin... how..you are really starting to annoy me now" she spat as he looked up at her, his eyes rolling in to the back of his head with pain as he cradled his hands between his legs holding on to the delicate area which had just been forcefully kicked.

He was wincing and panting through the pain, his face contorting and clenching his teeth before he let out an almighty wail and curled up in to a ball before her.

She gazed down at him with pity and regret, suddenly all her anger for Arthur had disappeared and she only felt sorry for the young servant, the rather defiant and overly attractive servant.

Without a seconds hesitation she fell down beside him and was grovelling an apology "I am so sorry Merlin, oh my god, do you need Gaius?" she cried as she saw him almost in tears.

He just shook his head in between grimacing and gasping at the pain.

Mallory stroked his face with her pale, slender fingers and traced the out line of the young man's jaw as she smiled down to him.

"I had no excuse Merlin, I may have been blinded by rage but I should never have taken it out on you" she muttered as she helped him sit up.

"I deserve punishing" she added as she slumped against the wall next to the servant.

Merlin only shook his head and tried to smile "no it's ok, Arthur is a prat, I understand how you feel" he stuttered through the pain as he felt a burning sensation in his groin and a sickening ache in his stomach.

Mallory stared blankly at the floor before turning to Merlin and raising to her knee's "I promise I will make this up to you, anything, anything at all" she whispered.

Merlin's face lit up with glee and a glint of mischief crept across his face "anything?" he questioned as he bit his lip.

Mallory shot him a questioning look before a smirk broke on her lips "as long as its nice" she replied.

Merlin toyed with the idea of all the things he could get her to do for him as a repayment, but even though he was usually good at thinking fast, being around Arthur meant he always had to have some form of a plan ready or know how to resolve a situation quickly, but right now he had nothing.

He just stared at the wall blankly before shrugging his shoulders "I'll think of something" he whipped and he thought he saw a hint of disappointment engulf her eyes as she forced a wry smile and looked away quickly before climbing to her feet and holding her hand out for the servant.

Merlin took her hand and let her pull him up, as she pulled him up she obviously pulled too hard and the young servant flew up and into her chest, his face flushed crimson and a shy smile broke through his lips, their eyes captivated by the others for a mere moment, but enough for them to realise there was something there.

Their eyes reflected a wanting and an understanding for the other, something Merlin had wanted to feel from someone for a long time.

Mallory looked at Merlin with a smirk played on her lips and an inquisitive glint in her eyes "just how did you get out of those restraints?" she asked as she gave the young man a quick, cheeky once over.

Merlin just replied with a teasing smile and winked at her "I have my ways".


End file.
